Sony Xperia Projector: Hands-on demo

Sony’s Xperia Projector beams a touch-responsive panel onto any wall, tabletop or other flat surface. We go as hands on as one can with a beam of visible light at Sony’s Tokyo HQ.

Sony says that the Xperia Projector, which is very much a concept piece at the moment, is ideal for home entertainment, organising your life and staying in touch with loved ones.

Like the Xperia Agent home assistant, it’s a luxury device that’s designed to all but replace your phone while you’re at home. Unlike your typical projector, which simply beams an image onto a suitable surface, the Xperia Projector actually turns your wall or tabletop into a panel that can be directly interacted with. Simply tap and swipe the projected image and it responds just like a tablet or phone display, flicking through menus and calling up apps.

There are all kinds of possible uses for this tech and we saw quite a few during our Xperia Projector demo at Sony’s Tokyo HQ. On a basic level, family members can check their calendars and social media streams, for instance, or show off their photos and videos to the rest of the household. You can fiddle with your IoT connected devices such as your thermostat and your home security setup, although that’s obviously nothing you can’t already do simply by installing an app on your phone.

More useful is the ability to video call your contacts, beaming their image up for everyone to see while the projector’s camera captures you all. And we can see the Xperia Projector working well in the kitchen, where you can beam some Netflix or Spotify onto a wall while you cook, or even the recipe you’re working on.

In our Xperia Projector demo, the touch controls worked surprisingly well considering this is still a ‘working concept’. Most of the menus couldn’t be directly interacted with just yet, but swiping left and right worked a treat. And as well as touch interaction, the Projector also responds to voice commands.

The Xperia Projector is still in the working concept stages, so don’t expect to see it in UK stores any time soon. Still, this luxury accessory could be a very cool addition to your smart home setup when it finally launches, even if many of the functions can simply be performed on your mobile.